Mayors Tory and Vrbanovic promote Toronto-Waterloo Corridor on business mission to Silicon Valley

Mayors Tory and Vrbanovic promote Toronto-Waterloo Corridor on business mission to San Francisco and Silicon Valley

From April 4 to 6, Toronto Mayor John Tory and City of Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic will lead a business mission to San Francisco and San Jose, California to champion the Toronto-Waterloo Corridor as a global hub of innovation and investment.

The business mission will focus on three objectives:

Promoting the Toronto-Waterloo Corridor as a globally competitive centre of innovation and investment through a keynote speech by Mayor Tory at the City Age conference on April 5

Meetings with U.S.-based technology companies including Google, Facebook and Salesforce to ask them to grow their presence in The Corridor

Meeting with expat Canadians and venture capitalists to let them know about exciting opportunities and growth in The Corridor

"There are amazing things happening in the Toronto-Waterloo Corridor and it's time we started bragging about it," said Mayor Tory. "I'm going to San Francisco to let the world know that ideas, investments and careers are taking off in The Corridor."

"There is no doubt in my mind that by working together, Toronto and Waterloo Region have the potential to compete as one of the world's great global innovation ecosystems," said Mayor Vrbanovic. "Now is the time to showcase the benefits of The Corridor - to remind tech companies and venture capitalists that we are a region that has demonstrated success in delivering tremendous talent at a competitive cost."

Mayor Tory will also meet with San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and learn about his Office of Civic Innovation, which partners with local tech companies to address municipal issues.

The delegation includes Cambridge Mayor Doug Craig, City of Waterloo Mayor Dave Jaworksy and technology entrepreneur experts from Communitech and MaRS. The group will host two receptions in San Francisco, one with the Digital Moose Lounge, and another at Canada House, a new work space created by MaRS Discovery District, Communitech, University of Waterloo Velocity, the C100 Association and RBC.

The Toronto-Waterloo regional corridor is North American's second largest technology cluster. In 2015 the Canadian Innovation Exchange's annual list of Canada's 20 Most Innovative Technology Companies included 12 from the Toronto-Waterloo region.

"Tech is flourishing in the Toronto-Waterloo Corridor and with that comes high demand for capital and talent. The mayors' visit to Silicon Valley is an opportunity to learn from another incredibly successful region, while also raising awareness of The Corridor," said Mallorie Brodie, CEO and co-founder of Bridgit. "This is a critical part of the ongoing efforts to attract the people and capital necessary for companies like Bridgit to grow."

"For years, Canadian startups have been told they need to move to the Valley to make it big. Companies like Vidyard, Wattpad, Kik and Hubba have shattered that notion by building amazing companies here in the Toronto-Waterloo Region Corridor, while also building strong connections with the Valley," said Iain Klugman, CEO of Communitech. "As The Corridor grows, it's important for our municipal leaders to step up and also make those connections, learn from their counterparts, and let the world know that we're building something incredible, and they're going to do everything they can to support it."

"It's an exciting time for the Toronto tech community as we start to see a number of promising companies. Having experienced past trips with Mayor John Tory, I am excited that he will be going to experience the large technology companies in SF and Asia," said Ben Zlotnick, CEO of [IN]cubes. "We are who we are in in the Toronto/KW region and with the Mayors' help we hope to build very successful companies that have the ability to expand into the regions visited."